Thread advancing reel



Nov. 24, 1953 R. w. STANLEY 2,659,955

THREAD ADVANCING REEL Original Filed Oct. 26, 1944 l www l y i y '111% lah BY @im W? INVENTO.

Patented Nov. 24, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT GFICE.

. *.THREADADVANCING REEL Richard W; Stanley,"Lakewood, 't'.hio,V assignor Ato American Viscose Corporation, Wilmington, Del.,` aA corporation of Delaware .Original application October. 26, 1944,. Serial No.

.-560,445, now Patent No.,2,447,14 3, dated vAugust 17,1948. -`D ividedand this application February 6, 1948, Serial No. Y6,710

` 2 Claims.

October 26, 1944, now Patent 2,447,143, August It it a particular object of vthis invention to provide animpr'oved thread-'advancing reel. It is a vfurther object of this invention to devise a reel which is adaptable to either ka cantilever or double end supported structure. It is a further object of the invention to provide a reel of this type based upon a structural vp:inciple which, when embodiedina reel of considerable axial length results in substantially'uniform eiciency in thread-advancing action throughout the lengthof ,the reel, and, at the same time, is adapted to operation at 'high speeds of rotation of the reel. A further object is to provide a reel With a multispeed drive at one end and "means accessible to the operator at the other end for shifting from one speed toanother. Further objects and advantages ofthe invention Will be apparent from the drawings'and 'description thereof hereinafter.

AIn the drawings illustrative of the invention- Figure 1 is a mid-section taken axially through one embodiment of thereeliofthis inventionon line I-I of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a section taken on line II-LII of Figurel; and

Figure 3 is a section taken on line III-III of Figure l.

In. general, thread-storing, thread-advancing reels of this invention comprise a concentric set of spaced, longitudinally extending bars and an eccentric set of spaced, longitudinally extending bars interdigitating with and alternating between `the bars of the firstset. The bars inthe non-concentric set are supported on a rigid member rotatably mounted on an 'axis both eccentric and 'askew with respect to thel axis of the concentric vset of bars and are individually connected to the member by universal joints which allows of axial displacement of the bars individually with respect to the `remaining bars in the set. This articulated mounting is preferably of such 'a character that the main relative movement occurs along sphericalsurfaces Referring more particularly to Figures 1 and 2, the concentric set-of longitudinally extending bar members 2 extend at one end into suitable recesses 3 'of the flange or spider c Whileth'e other ends are interlo'cked With an annular'rib 5 of a ilange or spider 6. The cylindrical cage 'of bars 2 may be clamped between 'endflan'ges 0r Vspiders d and 6 by suitable spaced cap screws i which are associated with springs 3. The system comprising the cylindrical cage of bars 2 and flanges 4 and `5 constitutes a housingwhi'ch may have any axial length desired, and `which may house the actuating mechanism :for the other set vof interdigitating bars t. This housing is supported for rotation Awith respect to a stationary hollow shaft le by means of suitable bearings Il. Flange t may be provided with a plurality of projections I2 which are adapted to rit in corresponding sockets I3 of a coupling It rotatably mounted'in the stationary frame I 5.

A two faced friction clutch I8 is xedly secured on slidably mounted shaft I1 which ex# tends'to both side thereof with one end recessed to receive a Vspring I8 Whichurges the shaft and clutch to the left as viewed in Figure 1. The other end of the 'shaft is provided with a splined connectionat l 9 so that it can'slide'axially of ythe coupling lli "and at'thesame time transmit `rotation tothe coupling lll. Gears 2i! and 2l `are freely' rotatably mounted on'the'shaft Il at eachsifde ofthe clutch I 8' and h'aveclutch facesj22 adapted to cooperate with the adjacent face cf Ithe clutch i6. 1While the clutch faces areof conical shape as shown, `they may instead be flat disks or annuli. Any type 0`f clutch may be substituted but preferably a type is used which may 'slip when a predetermined load is exceeded, whether this be a positive or friction drive type of yslip clutch'or equivalent device.

The gears 2U and 2l are adapted to be driven at different speeds by gears 2da and 2id respectively. A rod 23 having enlarged diameters adjacent each end anda rib at 2d extends through the hollow' shaft IEB `which is held stationary by the key 25 in the iiared member 2B which fits on the bearing 2l. The 4rod 23 has a pin 28 which projects outwardly from it and is a1'- ranged to `cooperate with the slotted way in a stationary sleeve or hub 29. By turning the hand knob 3B fixed on the end of rod 23, the rod may be shifted from the central branch slot in which the clutch `le is disengaged to and from the extreme branch slots in which the reel is driven at high and 10W speed respectively by virtue of the connection of the clutch to the gears 20and 2| respectively. A thrust bearing 3| is provided yto permit relative rotation of shaft H and rod 23. This arrangement makes the control of the clutch readily accessible from the discharge end of the reel which projects away from the driving connections so that an operator can readily shift to low speed for lacing up the reel and then to high speed for normal operation. When a large battery of such reels are associated in a common filament production or processing machine, the driving connections may all be associated with a couple of common drive shafts housed in an extension of the frame I5 and the reels may be arranged closely together on parallel axes without detriment to the individual reel driving control and its accessibility.

The bars 9 in the eccentric set are of composite structure, the bar proper 9 being xedly secured to a reinforcing beam 32 which has two projections 33, one at each end and each end of the beam is adapted to be connected to a corresponding rotatable member 34 and 34' respectively through a universal connection. The member 34 may be of a construction identical with that shown for member 34 and in that event both should be mounted on bearing sleeves having paralleled axes eccentric and inclined with respect to the axis of shaft i0. In the preferable construction shown, however, only one of the members, namely 34 is mounted on an askew and eccentric sleeve 35 while the other member 32 is mounted on a sleeve 35 which is eccentric only with respect to the shaft I0 so that member 34 follows the motions of member 34 transmitted by the bars 9 (or their beams 32).

The universal connection between the members 3d, 34 and the bars 9 is obtained by the use of spherical balls 3B which operate within spherical recesses provided in the outer periphery of the members 3@ and 34 and inwardly faced spherical recesses formed in each of a ring of relatively slidable blocks 37 xedly secured on the projections 33 of the beams 32 attached to bars 9. Because of the askew axis which controls the motion of members 34 and 34 just sufficient space is preferably provided between the adjacent relatively slidable surfaces of blocks 31 to permit rocking or oscillatory movement of the blocks about an axis extending radially with respect to the eccentric axis of the bars 9. If desired however, these surfaces may be spaced entirely out of contact with each other. A stii, resilient shroud or cover 38 is xedly secured to each of the members 34 and 34' and maintains the blocks 3l seated on the balls 36 while permitting sufcient motion between the blocks and itself to assure eicient articulation. The inner faces of the blacks 31 are spaced at all times from the outer faces of the members 34 and 3d so that there is no binding contact between them. To permit the member 3d to follow freely the motions of member 34, the inner bearing surface 38a of the outer race of the ball bearing supporting the member 34 on the eccentric sleeve 35' is made of spherical shape, though other expedients may be resorted to for this purpose. Both the members 34 and 36 as well as their associated shrouds 38 are provided with openings 'ib to permit unobstructed passages of tie rods l.

Where it is desired to protect the main operating parts from any possibility of clogging and corrosion when the reel is used forrsubjecting the lamentary material to liquids, a flexible sealing membrane 39, such as of rubber or synthetic rubber, may be secured about the projections 33 of the articulated supporting means for the non-concentric bars and to the ends of the concentric cylindrical cage as shown. Similarly grease for lubricating the mechanism can be kept out of contact with the thread manipulating bars.

As shown, the flange B overhangs the outer rim 40 of the stationary flared member 26. The outer peripheral surface of the member 26 preferably slopes inwardly from its outer rim 40 to a generally cylindrical portion el, which serves to hold any accumulation of thread formed after breakage of the thread being handled by the reel or during lacing up of the reel or any machine comprising the reel. Occasionally, stray iilaments also tend to gather on this member 26. The member 26 has a surface :il of sufficient axial extent to provide adequate storage space and ready access for the operator to remove the accumulated laments or threads at his convenience without danger of injury to his hands, and Without the necessity either of stopping the reel or of giving it immediate attention when the above-mentioned emergencies arise.

In operation, the skew member 34 causes substantial axial motion of the bars 9, such motion being imparted individually to each of the bars 9 by virtue of the individual universal joints between them and the member 34. By virtue of the eccentricity of the articulated supporting means and the bars 9, the axial to and fro motion of the bars imparted by the askew member 313 is combined with a radial component of motion which alternately causes rst the protrusion of the bars 9 outside the periphery of bars 2 and then their recession within that periphery, thereby resulting in the advancing of the thread axially of the reel.

The reels may be of any length desired and when relatively long compared to their diameter, the concentric bars 2 may be reinforced by annular members l2 which are arranged tc pass through apertures 43 made in the bars 9 and their reinforcing beams 3E without interfering with the motions of the bars 9.

The form of universal connection which essen-- tially comprises a ball and socket joint assures that the composite swiveling of each bar 9 about two axes, one transverse to the eccentric axis of the bar and to the plane of the bar and the other lying in the plane of the bar and extending radially with respect to the eccentric axis of the bar, occurs in a common spherical surface without any possibility of binding o1- twisting the elements of the joint into a distorted shape which would tend to bind or interfere with one or more of the components of the composite swiveling motion, Relativ ely little sliding motion occurs between the elements of the articulated system and they are readily and reliably lubricated to minimize frictional losses. Another outstanding advantage of the preferred reel construction of this invention is the use of a single askew member 313 rotating on an axis eccentric and askew to that of the concentric bars 2 for actuating the bars 9 and mounting another member rotatable on an eccentric axis in such a manner that it follows the askew motion of the member 3d. This not only simplifies the reel construction but prevents the excessive wear and damage that may result when the eccentric and askew axes of two such members deviate more or less out of parallel arrangement. The reel of the present invention combines ruggedness and sturdiness of construction with simplicity and negligible sliding friction. The resulting contact of the bars with the thread avoids entirely any possibility of appreciable sliding or shimmying motion of the bars with respect to the thread and consequently produces a processed thread of outstanding uniformity free of partially worn areas and irregularly stretched and tensioned lengths.

The various parts of the reel may be made of any particular ymaterials desired. The construction lends itself readily to making the bars 2 and 9 of materials which oier the most satisfactory bearing surfaces for the lamentary material to be handled thereby from the standpoint of smoothness, durability, and/or resistance to corrosion under the influence of any liquids with which the filamentary material is to be treated while being advanced longitudinally of the reel, Without making the remainder of the reel thereof. This is of tremendous importance from the view point of initial and depreciation cost of such reels, since materials which best meet the requirements specified are generally considerably more expensive than related materials which would be fully adequate for all portions of the supporting structure of the reel other than those intended to contact the lamentary material. Thus, parts 2 and 9 may be made of porcelain, Durez (a phenol-formaldehyde resin), Alsimag (an artificially produced lava-like stone), etc., while such other parts as 4, 6, and 32 may be made of Bakelite (a phenol-formaldehyde resin), stainless steel, etc. These latter parts need not be made of materials which are entirely free of tendencies to be pitted or otherwise supercially altered by the combined action of corrosive chemicals and rubbing action of the filaments handled.`

It is to be understood that changes and variations may be `made wi-thout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

l? claim:

1. Reel mechanism comprising a hollow shaft, a cage-like structure comprising two sets of interdigitating bars parallel to the shaft, means for imparting relative motion between the sets of bars during rotation thereof to provide thread advancing motion, means for rotating the structure as a unit about the axis of the shaft at different speeds comprising two driving members, means for rotating the members at different speeds, and clutch means axially spaced from one end of the cage-like structure for alternately engaging the two driving members rotating at differ-ent speeds, means comprising a rigid rotatable and axially movable member extending through the shaft to the other end of the cage-like structure for selectively engaging and disengaging the clutch means with respect to one of the two driving members, and detent means comprising a xed slotted element exposed at said other end of the reel and a radially extending pin secured to the movable .member and extending into the slot of the slotted element for retaining the clutch means in the selected position, 2. Reel mechanism as deiined in claim l in which the axes of the two sets of bars are eccentric and parallel with respect to each other.

RICHARD W. STANLEY.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 362,837 Hopper May 10, 1887 906,841 Whitcomb Dec. 15, 1908 1,849,983 Junkers Mar. 15, 1932 1,900,062 Krenzke Mar. 7, 1933 2,087,606 Oppenlaender July 20, 1937 2,175,218 Samerdyke Oct. 10, 1939 2,188,905 Knebusch Feb. 6, 1940 2,260,565 Furness Oct. 28, 1941 

